The Forbidden Love
by Raikana Sakaro
Summary: This is a story I wrote for summer school about Leia's love life previous to "A New Hope".


Title: The Forbidden Love  
  
Author: Celeste Jade Skywalker  
  
Date: 12-04-01  
  
Disclaimers: All of the characters except Seerong Tolant belong to George Lucas and Lucasfilm Ltd. I make no money off of this story, I'm just obsessed with Star Wars.  
  
Summary: Originally for my Summer School English class while we were studying Othello. This is a story about Leia's love life prior to ANH.  
  
The Forbidden Love  
  
Leia loved her room. It had an excellent view of the gardens. She sat at the window, staring at the gardens. She saw a man with black hair trimming a bush. Her heart leapt. He was gorgeous! He must have been new since she didn't recognize him. She crossed to the adjoining doorway, pushed a control button and the door slid aside. Winter stood behind, tying the sash on her robe before entering the room.  
  
"Yes, your majesty?" she asked. Even though her white hair was tangled and falling in wild clumps around her shoulders, she still looked more ready to face the royal court than Leia ever had.  
  
"I had a question." Leia led her best friend over to the window and pointed down at the man. "Do you know who that is?"  
  
Winter looked at where Leia was pointing and accessed her perfect memory, looking for his name. "That's Seerong Tolant, the new gardener. He just started work yesterday."  
  
"Thanks, Winter."  
  
"Will there be anything else, your majesty?"  
  
"No, Winter, you can go back to bed."  
  
"Thank you." Winter bowed to Leia and walked back into her own room.  
  
Leia changed into her sleeping gown and lay down on her bed. She soon fell into a sound sleep and her dreams were filled with images of the new gardener.  
  
@}}}--  
  
The next morning, Leia got dressed in her best sundress and sat at her vanity for hours, combing and braiding her long hair. She stepped out into the hallway to find Winter standing right outside her door.  
  
"Where are you going?" Winter asked curiously.  
  
"The gardens," Leia replied.  
  
"That sounds nice. I will accompany you."  
  
"No! I mean.why don't you stay here? I'm sure you have lots of other things to do."  
  
Winter frowned. "Why don't you want me to come with you? You usually enjoy my companionship."  
  
"Not today. I just want to be alone."  
  
Winter gave her a suspicious look. "What are you hiding from me?"  
  
"Sith!" Leia swore. "You know me too well, Winter."  
  
"I know," Winter replied calmly. "Now what are you trying to hide?"  
  
"I'm going to meet that new gardener," Leia admitted resignedly.  
  
Now Winter looked confused. "Why?"  
  
"Because I like him," Leia snapped. Could her friend be so dense as to not see her attraction to the man?  
  
"Why would you like him? He's only a gardener."  
  
"Because I just do. Promise you won't tell anyone?"  
  
"I promise, but I do not understand."  
  
"I didn't ask you to understand. Goodbye." Leia walked through the palace and into the gardens. She wandered through the neatly trimmed trees and bushes, looking for the young gardener. She soon found him. She saw that he wasn't wearing a shirt.  
  
"Hello, Seerong," she said. He spun around, startled.  
  
"Princess.your majestyuh, you highness" he sputtered.  
  
"Relax," she soothed. "You can call me Leia."  
  
"Yes, ma'am. Why are you here?"  
  
"I wanted to see you."  
  
"Am I fired?"  
  
"No," Leia chuckled. "I like you."  
  
Seerong frowned. "Me?"  
  
"Yes." She brought her hand up and caressed his cheek.  
  
@}}}--  
  
Leia sat on a bench with Seerong. She had been seeing him for about a month. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a rose from his homeworld of Naboo.  
  
"It's beautiful, Seerong."  
  
"I'm glad you like it." He stuck it in one of her braids. He had only recently returned to Alderaan.  
  
"I missed you so much," she said, snuggling into his arms.  
  
"I know," he replied. "I missed you, too. He tipped up her chin as he leant down and kissed her.. She closed her eyes and melted into his arms.  
  
"Leia!" came her mother's shocked cry. She straightened up and turned to find her parents, Bail and Challa Organa, standing by the bench, shocked looks on their faces.  
  
"What are you doing with this.person?" her father asked.  
  
"I love him, daddy."  
  
"You love him?" This time it was her mother.  
  
"Yes. What's wrong with that?"  
  
"He's a gardener!" her mother said indignantly.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with that. He's a good man!" Leia yelled back.  
  
Her father suddenly turned stern. "You're not to see him ever again," he ordered.  
  
Leia stood up. "Very well, father, I won't!" she hissed and stormed off into the palace. Why couldn't anybody understand this? First Winter. Now her parents. Who was next? The Senate? The Emperor? She opened the door to her room and stomped in. She sat down on her bed, put her face in her hands, and cried. Tears flowed freely down her face and her sobs were so loud that she didn't hear the hiss of the door.  
  
Winter saw her friend sitting on the bed, her shoulders shaking. She sat next to Leia and put her arms around the grieving girl. "They found out about Seerong, didn't they?" she asked gently. Leia nodded.  
  
"Why doesn't anyone understand?" she sobbed as she turned and buried her face in Winter's shoulder. Winter rubbed Leia's shoulders as she continued crying.  
  
@}}}--  
  
Leia rolled over and looked at the chrono next to her bed. It was a few minutes before midnight. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she padded over to her wardrobe and donned her slippers before tiptoeing into the hallway. She walked silently through the palace. She stepped out into the gardens and made her way to Seerong's quarters. She knocked on his door and, a few moments later, it slid open to reveal a very tired-looking Seerong.  
  
"Leia! What are you doing here? You know your father doesn't want you to see me."  
  
"Yes, but I want to see you."  
  
"Maybe we could meet some other time. I have to go to work at five."  
  
"I'll let you get some sleep. Goodbye, Seerong."  
  
"Goodbye, Leia."  
  
Leia walked back to her room and keyed open the door . She gasped with surprise at the sight of Winter beyond. The white-haired girl simply stared at her. "Don't do that to me, Winter."  
  
"You went to see him, didn't you?"  
  
Leia hung her head. "Yes."  
  
"I should tell your parents." Leia was horrified. She couldn't. "I won't, however, because I do understand how you feel."  
  
"Thank you. I appreciate this a lot. Did you finally meet someone?"  
  
"Yes. A man by the name of Tycho Celchu."  
  
@}}}--  
  
Leia walked to her father's office. She had been seeing Seerong secretly for about a month. She wanted to confront her father and make him understand. She pressed the buzzer.  
  
"Who is it?" the computer identification system asked.  
  
She straightened up. "Tell His Majesty that his daughter wishes to see him," she said in her most regal voice. A few seconds later, the door slid open and she stepped into Bail Organa's private office.  
  
Bail looked up from the datapad in his hand. "Hello, dear. What can I do for you?"  
  
"I wanted to know why you won't let me see Seerong."  
  
Her father frowned. "Who?"  
  
"Seerong Tolant; from Naboo. The gardener."  
  
"Oh, him. You're too good for him. You deserve better."  
  
"Daddy, I know you're only trying to look out for me, but he's the one I choose. He may be a gardener on the outside, but inside he has the heart of a ruler. His aunt was once queen of the Naboo."  
  
"Are you sure there isn't a better person for you?"  
  
Leia shook her head. "No, daddy. I love him with all my heart."  
  
Bail smiled softly and gave a low, short chuckle. Leia knew she had won. "You're as stubborn as your mother and as eloquent as I am. I, personally, will allow you to have a relationship with Queen Jamillia's nephew, but you mother will probably feel differently."  
  
@}}}--  
  
Leia sat in a gazebo with Seerong, gazing up at the stars. It had been a long, hard battle, but she'd done it. She'd made both of her parents understand her feelings and they both agreed to let her relationship continue. She looked at Seerong to find that he was already staring at her.  
  
"Aren't the stars beautiful?" she asked him.  
  
"So are you," he replied, running his fingers through her thick, brown hair. She'd left it down because she wanted tonight to be informal. Then, Seerong took her hand and reached into his pocket. He brought out a ring and held it in the palm of his free hand. It was made of gold and had a gem from Naboo set into it.  
  
"Leia," he said, "I've loved you since the day you came to visit me in the gardens. You kept seeing me even when you were forbidden and you convinced both your parents that we were right for each other. I now have something that I want to ask you. Leia, will you marry me?"  
  
Leia threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "Of course I will, Seerong. I've been waiting for you to ask me that." She pulled away from the hug and Seerong slipped the ring onto her finger.  
  
@}}}--  
  
Leia stood in front of her father's desk as he talked to her.  
  
"I have a very dangerous assignment. I figured you and Winter would want to take it, so I'm asking you first. We have received word that the Empire is building a superweapon. It's called a Death Star. I would like you to bring the plans back here so we can plan an attack against it. Winter would infiltrate an Imperial base and get the plans. She would then send them to you on the Tantive IV. Your cover will be that you're on a diplomatic mission to your homeworld. You will the deliver the plans to me and I'll get together with Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis so we can plan an attack."  
  
Leia stood at attention. "I accept the mission, sir."  
  
"Very well. You leave tomorrow. Pack whatever you need."  
  
"Yes, sir." Leia turned and walked back towards her room to pack.  
  
@}}}--  
  
Leia was ushered onto the bridge of the Death Star by Darth Vader and two Imperial stormtroopers. She looked at the man standing on the bridge.  
  
"Governor Tarkin. I should've expected to find you holding Vader's leash. I recognized your foul stench when I was brought on board," she said in an ice-cold voice.  
  
Tarkin gave a small smile, devoid of any feeling. "Charming to the last. You don't know how hard I found it signing the order to terminate your life."  
  
"I'm surprised you had the courage to take the responsibility yourself."  
  
"Princess Leia, before your execution, I would like you to be my guest at a ceremony that will make this battle station operational. No star system will dare oppose the Emperor now."  
  
Leia just gazed calmly at him. "The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers." Hundreds of worlds had already joined the Rebel Alliance. There were probably many more to come.  
  
"Not after we demonstrate the power of this station. In a way, you have determined the choice of the planet that will be destroyed first. Since you have been reluctant to provide us with the location of the Rebel base, I've decided to test this station's destructive power on you home planet of Alderaan."  
  
He couldn't. Shock showed plainly on Leia's face. "No. Alderaan is peaceful. We have no weapons. You couldn't possibly"  
  
"You have another target?" Tarkin interrupted. "A military target? Then name the system. I grow tired of asking this so it will be the last time. Where is the Rebel base?"  
  
Leia looked at the view of Alderaan. It was beautiful; she couldn't let the Empire destroy it. "Dantooine," she said, faking resignation and defeat. "They're on Dantooine."  
  
Tarkin tilted his head up to look at Darth Vader. "See, Lord Vader? She can be reasonable." He turned to the officer beside him. "Continue with the operation. Fire when ready."  
  
"What?!" Leia shrieked.  
  
"You're far to trusting. Dantooin is too remote to make an effective demonstration, but don't worry, we'll deal with you Rebel friends soon enough."  
  
"No." she whimpered and watched as the green beam from the super laser turned Alderaan to rubble. Everything she had ever known was gone, and all it took was one blast from this Imperial weapon. She'd lost everyone she'd ever loved except winter. Her mother, her father, all her friends, her finac(e.gone. She didn't know how she'd live without Seerong. She hadn't even had time to say goodbye before she had to leave. She held back the tears that threatened to flow and kept her demeanor strong and regal while she was escorted back to her cell. Even when she was alone in her cell, she didn't cry since she knew they were monitoring her. She would avenge Seerong's death. She would help bring down the Empire. 


End file.
